We have lived in our house now 15 years. In the early years we were surrounded by open farmland and wooded hills. Overseeing this kingdom sat an old hawk on a telephone line. When other, smaller birds got too close, the hawk would stare them down and open his wings menacingly. They would move further down the line. One day machines tore down the old farmhouse and collapsed barn and began to excavate the fields. New housing additions, apartment buildings and a full hospital and medical complex rose in their place. 

Soon other machines began to cut side roads through the wooded hills. The old hawk moved to the top of a dead tree nearer to our house. Every day more of the wildlife was displaced. It became easy for the hawk to catch the fleeing mice and rabbits.  Each day as I headed to the church, I would watch the hawk watch the shrinking fields and severed woods. In the evenings coming home I would see him circling overhead. A few years ago, he moved on. Four or five younger hawks took over circling the area. The dead tree began collapsing, ever shrinking. The hawks began to rest on area roof tops. One day, just before sundown, I went out in the backyard to cover the faucets from the winter freezes. When I looked up, a hawk was looking at me. 

He was sitting on our back fence, just a few yards in front of me. I pulled out my phone and he posed for pictures. Even the flash did not faze him. Then he turned suddenly, opened his mighty wings, dropped down and took off with his prize. I mistakenly thought he was watching me. I was just a manageable distraction. Too many distractions and the hawk would come up short. He stayed on mission. It was getting dark quickly. The little creatures now live in suburban backyards and flowerbeds. The majestic hawk has learned to adapt to his changing world.

This has been a hard year with curtailed activities and distractions everywhere, but the church has stayed on mission. Since God’s people are the church, that means that you have stayed on mission—worshiping, praying, serving others in the name of Jesus. Thank you for being the church in this year of pandemic.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Keep your eye on the prize. And let’s experience the love and power of God together while still apart.

A stranger showed up one day at the church office, before this pandemic. He wanted to talk to the pastor. But this time it was different. Hundreds of strangers show up at church office doors wanting to talk to the pastor. Basically they all want help, as in money. It’s not hard to get cynical and skeptical. I have had to get philosophical over the years. I’ve decided that begging for money is a full-time job for some. Many times I have seen “shift change” at an area street corner where one person with the “Anything Helps” sign is replaced by another with the “Will Work for Food” sign. Going church door to church door is another full-time job for some. Discerning the true need from the really good story is not as easy as it sounds. I have found that the people who get angry and chew me out are the scammers. Most people in deep need are slightly embarrassed, not manipulative.  

The man at the office door wanted two things—a chance to listen and a chance to pray. Listen to what? Listen to God and listen to the pastor. I took him to a pew where he asked me to sit near by. I kept a respectable distance. He silently stared at the Good Shepherd window for a few minutes. Then he turned to me and asked me to talk to him. Thinking he wanted a counseling session, I tried to find his need.  “No,” he said, “Tell me about your walk with God.” Okay. So I began to tell my faith story, my call to the ministry and my daily spiritual “routine.”  We came to a stopping point and he told me “thank you.” Then he offered to pray for me, a sweet and genuine prayer. He said goodbye and a thank you once more. It reminded me that not all strangers at the church door want food and money.

That passage about Christian hospitality near the end of Hebrews encourages us to “entertain strangers,” outsiders, because they just might be angels. A stranger may have unwelcome motives, or they may be someone sent to bless your life. The only way to know the difference is to engage them in a conversation, and pray.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today.  Be friendly to all the angels. And let’s experience the love and power of God together while we are apart.

I was browsing in the local Cokesbury bookstore, before it closed a while back, when I came across the most recent release of a favorite book of mine. I was impressed that sixty years after it was first published, this book is still being used by countless aspiring preachers as a guide in communicating the Gospel message. This book was written by Dorothy’s second cousin, Charlie Koller. He was born in 1896 in Waco, Texas.

He grew up as a member of Waco’s German Baptist Church now called Central Baptist. Dorothy’s grandmother, Elise Koller Niederer, organized the Woman’s Missionary Union at that church in 1910. Her grandparents were so impressed by the dedication and faithfulness of this man that they named two of their sons after him. Charles William Koller went to Baylor and studied law before following the call to preach and earning his Doctor of Theology degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He later served as the professor of preaching and president of the Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Chicago for more than twenty years. Dorothy introduced me to him once at a church anniversary in Waco. 

The book, now titled How to Preach Without Notes, provided the framework for understanding expository preaching, which is basically reading the Scripture, relating the background of the passage and the application of its meaning for today. He emphasized how deeply one must study and prepare before standing to preach. By preaching without notes rather than reading from a prepared manuscript, the preacher could take what was in his head to his heart before speaking it to the people. The book is his seminary course on preaching. The chapter on how to file sermons in folders and manila envelopes has saved many a preacher’s Saturday night. The last half of the book contains 15 of his sermons. I had wonderful preaching professors in college and seminary, but Dr. Koller’s book shaped me profoundly, and I am grateful. The preacher’s watchword is found in Paul’s admonition to Timothy: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. (2 Tim. 4:2)

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Hide God’s Word in your heart. And let’s experience the love and power of God together while we are apart.